7/17/13

{WIOW} - Conquering the Stairmill

Hi everyone.

It's WIOW (Work it out Wednesday) again! Yay. I started these posts to share workout information with all of you but to also help me stay motivated and on track with my workouts. It holds me accountable, that's for sure! I always think about NOT going to the gym but then I think...what will I write about on Wednesday? :)

Today I am talking about my new favorite machine that took me a while to try because I was so dang scared of it.

Why? Because I had a fun little "accident" at my last gym where some idiot left the treadmill on next to him at a 9.0 speed so he could move from one to the other switching off from sprints to hills. Well, dude left one of them running with nothing on it and I jumped on it thinking it was an open machine.

Next thing I knew I literally FLEW across the room and pretty much blacked out. In the end I was fine...only a few bumps and bruises and a passion to seriously KILL that dumb guy. However, I am a little leery of things that are consistently running. Unlike a bike or elliptical machine where you control the movement, these things don't stop unless you tell it to. So the stairmill, like the treadmill, terrifies me.

However, I decided to face my fears and try it because I have heard such great things about it. And guess what? I loved it. It was a little scary being up so high and not being able to stop but I kept it slow and got the hang of it after a few minutes. Since then, I have been adding 10-20 minutes of stair work to my routine of at least 2 miles a day and I think it's making a difference!

I am still creating workouts but this is the one I have been doing lately...definitely gets my heart rate up, gets me sweating like crazy and my booty is definitely sore the next day. All things I consider part of a successful workout!

{pin me!}

If you do the workout above, you can vary the levels. I do the first 5 at a decent rate (73-75 steps per minute) and then slow it down for the next 5 to get the fancy stuff in. If you are new, take it slow and get to know the stairs and the pick up the pace. When I do the one above for 20 minutes, I burn about 300 calories.

Have you tried the stairmill? What is your favorite machine at the gym??
**Oh and just a quick note, I will be out of town for a week so I will back to posting when I return! Be sure to follow my Chicago/Cabin adventures via Instagram! :)

10 comments:

I don't think I have ever tried a stairmill. In fact it has been a scary long time since I have been to the gym. The next month looks like it is going to be a little slower at my office so I need to work on changing that and getting back into a healthy habit.

my gym doesn't have a stairmill but i will be on the lookout for one - sounds like a good challenge! i am still a big fan of the regular ol' elliptical. i feel comfortable on it but it still gives me a great workout too. -- jackie @ jade and oak

Woah! I can't believe he did that!! I'm always terrified of the stairmill too - and it's HARD! I can go a good 45 minutes at full speed on the elliptical, or even doing HIT intervals on a treadmill, but I last about 5 minutes on the stairmill! I'll definitely try your workout though!

impressed you tackle the stairmill. i will stick with with runs outside. i always feel like i will fall on my face. .... also that guy was an idiot. who takes up two machines and leaves them running, not cool, bro, not cool.

Oh my gosh! I can't believe that happened. I haven't been to a gym in years (like, over ten) so I don't know what all of the newest equipment is. I've been feeling lazy lately so I've been wanting to skip my jazzercise class. Guess I'll go now!